Iñárritu has been highly praised for his work on Birdman — along with acclaimed cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Iñárritu shot the film as if it was captured in one long take, a conceit which worked well with his “day in the life” concept. That conceit gave the film a particularly intense energy, and although Birdman has been divisive among critics and audiences alike, the Academy has determined that Iñárritu’s inventive work was the best of the year.

Birdman was nominated for a total of nine Oscars at this year’s awards, and was also recently nominated for seven awards at the 2015 Golden Globes, where Michael Keaton won the award for Best Actor for his leading role in the film, and Iñárritu and his co-writers took home the award for Best Screenplay.